Mothman and Other Curious Encounters

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 208 pages
• Published by: Paraview Press
• Edition: 3rd Edition January 1, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1931044341
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1931044349
• Book Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 9.9 ounces

Product Review
"Coleman has produced the most complete overview of Mothman and its minions -- the scariest family of monsters on Earth." -- John Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies

Product Description
Mothman and Other Curious Encounters is an intriguing look at the legend behind The Mothman Prophecies, the new motion picture featuring Richard Gere, Debra Messing, Will Patton and Laura Linney.

A new Hollywood blockbuster, an amazing companion documentary, and thousands of web pages in its honor--what's all the fuss about? In a word--Mothman!

On November 15, 1966, this huge, red-eyed creature with wings appeared over Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Thus began thirteen months of otherworldly mystery, madness, and mayhem for the people of Point Pleasant, culminating in the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which left 46 dead.

But contrary to popular belief, Mothman is not unique. Here for the first time, investigator Loren Coleman looks at the precursors of Mothman, like the Flatwoods Monster of 1952, then brings the story up to date, detailing the sightings of the spawn of Mothman, some as recent as November 2001. Coleman also looks at the impact on investigations into the unknown by John Keel, the newsman who spend a year in Point Pleasant looking into the Mothman story and lived to write about it.

MOTHMAN AND OTHER CURIOUS ENCOUNTERS is certain to jolt your placid preconceived notion of the nature of the physical universe.

Reader Reviews
This book, a follow-up to Mysterious America by cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, is basically a compendium of reports, anecdotes and myths dealing with strange creatures. Apparently published to capitalize on the film `The Mothman Prophecies' (the back of the book displays a prominent ad for the film), this book is a fun read, great for a rainy evening. And, for those unfamiliar with such Fortean phenomena as Mothman, The Flatwoods Monster, thunderbirds and other such critters, this is a good overview. However, for those who have read John Keel's Mothman Prophecies, Our Haunted Planet or Strange Creatures from Time and Space, or who are familiar with the books of the late Charles Fort (namesake of the word Fortean), there is little new to be found here. Within the book's 200 pages are nine chapters, two appendices and a section on `Mothman bibliography and other resources' (did you know you could order an "action Mothman figure"?). The chapters aggregate `types' of creatures, such as `Winged Weirdies', `Mothman' and `Lizardmen'. And, given the influence of John Keel's work on Coleman, one chapter is even called `Keel's Children'. In fact, this book arguably should have been sub-subtitled `An Homage to John Keel'. One whole appendix is a direct re-print of reported Mothman sightings lifted from Keel's Strange Creatures from Time and Space. Without Keel's contributions, this would likely have been a pretty slim volume indeed. As mentioned, this is an entertaining way to spend a few hours, not requiring much in the way of deep thinking. The style of the book is breezy and engaging, although it could have benefited from better proofreading (the late ufologist Gray Barker was sometimes referred to as Gray, other times as `Gary'). For those who are interested in a solid introduction to the arcane field of `cryptozoology', this is a great place to start, and for those who are generally familiar with the material, this is a good refresher. It's certainly worth the modest price.